A Trainer's Reflections: Sinnoh
by Traveling Trainer
Summary: "As you grow older, you grow wiser. But the one thing that doesn't change with time is you, if you understand what I mean." An expansion and partial novelization of one trainer's playthrough of Pokemon Platinum. Discontinued.
1. Sandgem: Test of Character

The red chair in my cabin was quite comfy. I think. I didn't actually get the chance to find out, seeing as Crescendo spent the entire boat ride curled up on it. Despite myself, I sighed loudly, staring out the window in utter boredom. Sure, land was clearly visible, and the P.A system had announced that we'd be arriving in Sandgem in about ten minutes, but with the little Eevee asleep and the rest of my Pokemon at home (at my request), I really had nothing at all to do other than sit in the boat and wait.

Unfortunately (or, from a certain point of view, fortunately), my sigh had woken Crescendo up from his nap, and after stretching his legs and cricking his back, he bounded over to me, jumped into my lap and pressed his front paws against the pane of glass. I poked the window just above his left ear, and he batted at my finger playfully. I smiled.

"See that, Crescendo? That's Sandgem Town." He stared at the sight for a little while, then turned to me, big brown eyes wide with emotion, and he let out a "Vee?" I stroked the silky fur of his ear, and he pressed into my hand, smiling.

"We'll be meeting a new friend th- huh?" I was cut off as my Pokegear started to ring, and I quickly flipped it open. "Mom?"

My mother appeared on the screen, along with the worried faces of an Espeon and Umbreon, the lavender, black, and glowing blue blending together at the bottom of the screen. "Sorry to call you so suddenly, sweetie. Crescent and Vivian just wanted to see how their baby's doing. You're taking good care of him, right?" Vivian let out a bark, and Crescendo went wild, trying to get at the screen. I restrained him as best I could as I lowered the Pokegear to his level, and he immediately pressed his paw against the screen, covering up half of the call from being shown.

"Yeah, yeah, he's just fine, Mom. Don't worry about it." I said tiredly, and my mom gave me a disappointed look.

"You ought to care a little more about how Crescent and Vivian feel, Bill! They agreed to let you bring their child along, so they have a right to know how he's doing!" I sighed and looked away so I could roll my eyes without her seeing, then turned back to the screen, which Crescendo had finally unblocked.

"Yeah, but they've called at least once every day since I left. Can't they have a little more faith in me? I've traveled around two other regions, you know." I said matter-of-factly, and my mom let out a grunt.

"It's just what parents do, Bill. It's just like how I called you lots of times when you started your first journey."

"Yeah, but I missed all the calls because my Pokegear was packed so deep in my bag that I didn't notice. Remember?"

"Y-yes, but that's not an excuse to not pick up the phone now. Ugh..." My mother sighed in frustration before whipping her head to the side. "I'm sorry, Crescent, Vivian, sweetie, I've got to hang up now. Rose's parents are here, we're having dinner together tonight. See you!" The Umbreon and Espeon gave a final bark to their son before the Pokegear switched off. Just as I did so, a loud, monotone voice blared out of the ceiling speaker, spooking Crescendo.

"The S.S Aqua has arrived at Sandgem Town. If this is your destination, we wish you a safe and pleasant stay." I picked up the little Eevee to calm him down, and returned him to his Pokeball before I exited the room.

The beach outside was warm and damp, and the sun was just beginning to set, giving the town a golden glow to it. As I wandered away from the boat, I took a complimentary town map from the dock's information kiosk and stared at it. Other than a few houses, and the few shops and Pokemart in the town center, there didn't seem to be much - except for the one thing that interested me: Professor Rowan's Pokemon Lab, at the northernmost part of the town. Adjusting my bag's strap, I confidently strolled into the town, leaving the Johto-bound boat behind me.

The town was bustling with activity, something I hadn't expected given the fact that it was early evening. The red-brick and white-stone buildings were caked with dust from people and Pokemon walking, running, talking, playing, and I had to stand on my tiptoes to be able to see some of the signs that hung from the roofs. Deciding not to sightsee for the moment, I furled up the map and shoved it into my bag, and reached out to tap on the shoulder of a younger boy carrying a briefcase. He turned, his red beret flopping off of his head, slightly.

"Yes? What is it?" I straightened my green jacket to make myself look presentable.

"Ah... do you know the way to Professor Rowan's lab? I know it's the northernmost part of town, but, ah, I just arrived." The boy's eyes lit up, and he shook my hand warmly.

"Oh, you must be here for a Sinnoh starter Pokemon! Does that mean you're a new Trainer?"

"Not exactly. I've traveled a few other places before, but this is the first I've been to Sinnoh."

"Then let me be the first to welcome you. I'm Lucas, Professor Rowan's assistant." My eyebrow shot up.

"Assistant?" Admittedly, I had been pretty young myself when I first started Pokemon training, but this kid had to be at least eleven... which was one year younger than when I started my first journey anyway, so I was getting confused over nothing. Mentally slapping myself, I shook my head and smiled.

"So you must know the way to the lab." He nodded and began to walk away, beckoning me to follow him, which I did.

"Uh, so... what are the three Sinnoh starters?" I asked casually, and he stopped to open the briefcase. He pulled out a tiny scrap of paper with three doodles on it, and handed it to me. I looked. One doodle showed a turtle with a leaf growing out of its head. The next showed a monkey with a small fire burning on its backside. The last was a rather crude drawing of a penguin. I handed the paper back to Lucas, who immediately put it back inside the briefcase, and he snapped it closed before we began to walk again.

"The first one is Turtwig, the Grass-typed starter. The second one is Chimchar, the Fire-typed starter, and the last one is Piplup, the Water-typed starter." The last few words were said with slight disdain, and I turned to him. "Most people pick Chimchar or Turtwig, since they find Piplup to be a handful to train."

"Why is that?"

"You'll find out. Trust me." He stopped in front of a set of big, wooden double-doors, and knocked three times. And waited. And waited. And waited some more.

I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "Are you sure this is the place?"

"Of course I'm sure."

As if on cue, the doors opened, revealing a very, very old man in a brown coat and blue dress-shirt. He stared at Lucas and I, sharp eyes looking us over, and his beard rustled as he spoke.

"Lucas, who is this young man?" His voice was gravelly, and Lucas stuttered a bit when he replied.

"This... um... this is a Trainer looking for a starter Pokemon, s-sir." Rowan's eyes flicked to me, and I looked back at him, unafraid. I reached my hand out for him to shake. He didn't take it.

"My name's Bill, Professor. I was sent here on a recommendation from Professor Elm?" Rowan's posture changed from stiff to... well, slightly-less stiff, and he finally took my hand, shaking it once.

"Ah yes, I got Elm's e-mail. You're going to go around and collect Badges like all the other trainers, I assume?"

"Of course, sir."

"I see. Lucas! Come along. And you too, Bill." Lucas's blue winter coat swished past me, and I saw the kid zoom past Rowan and into the lab. Rowan and I shared a laugh, before I looked up at him again. I noticed he was almost a head taller than I was. It was a strange feeling, to be honest. I still didn't know whether I was done growing or not.

"Have you given any thought as to what starter you were going to choose?"

"I gave them a quick look on the way here, but I'm not quite sure who I'm going to choose yet, no."

"Well now. Most trainers have their choice set in stone when they get here. Why not you?"

"Well, I spent most of the boat ride thinking of name ideas, sir."

He stared at me, then sighed. "Really." We entered the main room of the lab, the warm brown walls of the entrance giving way to a white, washed-out look. In the corner was a computer, hooked up to a scanner, and a healing machine beeped in the middle of the room. Lucas set In the corner was a computer, hooked up to a scanner, and a healing machine beeped in the middle of the room. Lucas set the briefcase down on a table near the healing machine, and Professor Rowan slipped off his coat and hung it on a rack near the door, and sat down behind the table. I sat down on the other side, and Rowan opened up the briefcase. He started to reach inside, but stopped suddenly.

"Bill, before I let you choose your starter, I would like to ask you a few questions." My mind raced. Pop quiz? Dammit! "Don't worry, I ask these to every Trainer who comes to get a starter Pokemon. Now, are you ready to begin?"

I wasn't sure if I nodded, but he spoke again regardless of whether I did so or not. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from Johto, sir."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen, sir, and my birthday's this fall."

"Autumn."

"Same thing."

He was silent for a moment, as if trying to figure out what I had just said. I was confused by his reaction before realizing I had forgotten something.

"...sir."

I thought I saw his beard twitch into the semblance of a smile. "Alright. How many places have you traveled to?"

"I've explored both Kanto and Hoenn and collected all eight Badges of each, sir."

"Did you ever participate in the Elite Four challenge?"

"I have not, sir. My goal was just to get all eight Badges - I never thought about trying to become the Champion."

"Hm. Well, let's continue."

This I-ask-a-personal-question-and-you-answer-it session went on for about an hour or so, and while I'd never say it in front of Rowan, I got incredibly bored by the end of it. To my relief, he finally stood up, revealing a darkened window behind him.

"Wow, it's already nighttime." I remarked, and Rowan turned around to glance at the window.

"Astute observation." He snarked, and it took me a while before his comment sunk in, but by the time I realized it, he had left the room with Lucas. I couldn't hear them, but whatever they were talking about, I obviously wasn't supposed to listen, and so I sat, waiting again. I toyed with the idea of letting out Crescendo, but decided against it and instead walked over to another table in the room and grabbed a newspaper.

"Old Research Building in Eterna Bought by Galactic?" I began to thumb through the article. Apparently a group calling themselves Team Galactic had obtained some building in Eterna City, and were using it to conduct experiments of some sort. I grunted as I put the paper down. Team Galactic... sounded like another Rocket ripoff. Rocket was famous all over the world for their criminal activities (and their disbanding years ago by a trainer only known as Red), and even now knock-offs seemed to pop up everywhere - the year I started my first journey, Hoenn had a huge disaster with two teams called Aqua and Magma. I hadn't paid much attention to it since it wasn't my business - besides, most of the info on the incident had been classified anyway. I heard the door click behind me, and I saw Rowan and Lucas walk back inside. In Rowan's hands was a Pokeball.

"Lucas and I have talked, and we agreed that you'd be best suited to this Pokemon for your starter." I took the ball gingerly from him and stared at it. This was my starter Pokemon for my Sinnoh journey. I looked at Rowan, who stared back nonchalantly, and then Lucas, who nodded encouragingly. Smiling, I gave the ball a weak toss, and it let out a flash of light that formed into a little penguin.

"A Piplup!" I exclaimed, and I immediately knelt down to get a good look at it. It was small, with a blue body, white head, yellow feet, and tiny beak. I gave it a pat.

"Hey there... Glacier. I guess you're my new partner." He looked back at me and pointed to himself with his flipper, giving me a quiet "Pip?" as he did so.

"Yep, you." The bird then decided to peck at my palm, the yellow beak jabbing into my hand, and I drew back, hissing slightly. Lucas immediately stepped over and grabbed my wrist, looking at it before he pulled a roll of bandages out of the briefcase, and he wrapped up my hand snugly in the fabric. Rowan seemed to smile.

"See? He's taken to you already." He pointed to the chair I had been sitting it, and I saw Piplup clambering into it, letting out another "Pip!", louder this time, as he settled into the bag, fidgeting a bit before getting comfortable. I sighed a bit.

"Glacier, get out of there. There's important stuff in there." I said, as I attempted to pull the penguin out of my bag. Unfortunately, he fought me, batting away my hands and hanging onto the bag as I pulled at him, and eventually I gave up, letting him sit in the bag, and I sat down, breathing hard from the effort.

"Hoo boy." I thought I heard a chuckle and turned, but neither Rowan nor Lucas were laughing. I stood up and slung my bag around my shoulder, and I waved to the two of them.

"Thank you, Lucas, Professor. See you... ah, later, I guess." Rowan grabbed my shoulder as I made to leave, and I looked at him. He handed me a Pokedex.

"You mustn't forget this." He said, and for a moment, he seemed to be glaring at me for being so absentminded.

"You're right. Thank you, Professor Rowan." And with that, I left the room and the lab entirely, leaving Lucas and Rowan by themselves. As I began to walk towards the Pokemon Center, I felt Glacier climb up my messenger bag's strap and hang onto my shoulder, where he began to chatter nonsense into my ear. I patted him on the head, and he said a short "Piplup!" in response. I smiled.

"Good to meet you, Glacier. I think we'll be friends."


	2. Oreburgh: Rival's Challenge

I sat down on the metal bench outside of the parlor, a large cup of white, melty vanilla ice cream held in between my palms. I set it down next to me and drew out two of my Pokeballs, the afternoon sunlight reflecting off of them and slightly blinding me. I winced from the shine, and immediately dropped the two red-and-white orbs, where they clacked onto the ground and opened, revealing a fuzzy brown Eevee and a blue-black Shinx. Crescendo immediately hopped into my lap, while the Shinx hopped up and placed her front paws against my shin, staring up intently at me with her big, bright yellow eyes. I smiled at her, before sweeping her up in my arms and placing her on my lap. She yelped out and shivered with nervousness, but Crescendo gave her cheek a lick, which seemed to calm her down. Looking at the both of them, I spoke.

"Alright, you two. I've been thinking about today, and I think... that you deserve a little reward." And indeed they did. It wasn't every day that an Eevee and a Shinx swept a Rock-type Gym Leader's strongest Pokemon, and with tackles and quick attacks, no less. The pair's eyes widened with surprise as I set the ice cream bowl down on the ground in front of my feet before kneeling down and placing them in front of it. Crescendo stared at it eagerly, having had ice cream once before at home, but the Shinx simply gave me a look that said, 'what am I looking at?' I chuckled and patted her on the head.

"I forgot, you were a wild Pokemon before, Nicole. This is ice cream. You'll like it." Crescendo dug into a side of the bowl, while Nicole just stuck her tongue out and licked at it. However, she seemed to enjoy it, and soon match Crescendo's frantic pace. I chuckled as they chowed down on the treat.

"You two deserve it." I pulled out my badge case to look at my newest prize, the Coal Badge. The dull, brown-tinted metal seemed to glow with the sense of accomplishment, and I rubbed at it a bit with my shirt to shine it, causing it to give off satisfying squeaks. After a few minutes, I appraised it again, placed it back in the case, and looked at Crescendo and Nicole, who were now roughhousing on the dusty ground, the empty ice cream cup forgotten. I picked up the plastic dish and tossed it in the trash before picking the pair of Pokemon up and giving them a good once-over. I cringed.

"Good grief, what did you two do?" The pair had a gross, sticky combination of dirt and ice cream all around their muzzles, matting their fur and simply looking bad. Quickly, I placed them to my side and pulled out Glacier's Pokeball, releasing him with a quick toss. He stood up tall and proud before looking towards the other two, and he flopped onto his back, chortling at the sight, slamming his flippers on the ground. Crescendo barked at him angrily, while Nicole looked down at her toes, embarrassed. I snapped my fingers near Glacier to get his attention, and he turned his head towards me.

"Glacier, could you just use a small Water Gun on the two of them?" He nodded excitedly, and before Crescendo or Nicole could get out of the way, the two were hit with a modestly large steam of water, drenching them to the bone. I sighed unhappily as Glacier turned to me and said "Pip!", pumping his flipper triumphantly.

"Glaicer, I said a 'small' Water Gun." He cocked his head in confusion, and I waved my hand at him. "Never mind. Thanks anyway."

I zipped open my bag and shuffled through it. Potions, water bottles, canned food, my cooking kit, my Pokegear, extra clothes... where was the towel I brought? Oh, there it was, hidden under a few jostled shirts. I took it out of the bag, letting the white fabric unfold by gravity, and I laid it on the bench, placing Crescendo and Nicole on top, and began to rub all over them to get the extra moisture out of their fur. I heard yelps of occasional dismay at the treatment, but didn't respond.

"Bill! No way!" I turned at the familiar voice, my face turning slightly pink as I did so. Wait, what? Why was that? Weird. Anyway, I turned to see a brown-haired girl, wearing a big red coat, with a Vulpix by her side.

"Rose? Hey! What are you doing here?" I stood up, Crescendo and Nicole temporarily forgotten, and I gave her a quick hug, my face reddening a little more at the contact. Again, why? She was my best friend, why was I embarrassed? I stepped back, coughing a little bit, and she smiled at me.

"I ought to ask you the same question! I came here because I heard that Sinnoh had a Battle Frontier somewhere!" My eyes lit up. Ever since the Frontier had opened in Hoenn, Rose had been a steadfast competitor in their facilities. If there was a Frontier set up in Sinnoh, then she definitely had a legitimate reason for coming. "I guess you're taking the Eight Badge Challenge again?"

"Yeah. Got bored of sitting around the house again." I turned to see a large, moving lump, edging dangerously close to the end of the bench. I hastily grabbed Crescendo and Nicole and unwrapped them, freeing them from the cloth prison. Crescendo barked at me angrily, while Nicole simply rubbed up against my wrist, shocking me with a jolt of static as she did so. I let out a quiet 'grr' of surprise as the electric current ran through me, and shuddered, goosebumps appearing on my body. I turned my head and yelled loudly as I saw Rose's face unnecessarily close to mine.

"I knew that would get your attention! C'mon! Let's battle!" She stepped back, and her Vulpix leapt out in front of her, tails curling and uncurling in anticipation. "Cara and I'll go easy on you. Promise."

Fight a hopeless battle against a Vulpix trained for countless years, or get reminded about battling her every minute I spent in her company? Easy choice. I was stoned-faced as I stood. "...alright, fine. But only because you won't stop bothering me about it if I don't. Crescendo, let's go!"

* * *

As Glacier fell onto his side, holding his head due to the effects of Cara's powerful Extrasensory, I held up his Pokeball, recalling him in a beam of red light. Sighing, I pulled my wallet out of my jacket, plucked a few bills from inside, and placed them in Rose's waiting hand.

"See? I told you it was a hopeless battle." She smiled cutely as she pocketed the cash, and I blushed again.

"Oh, come on! It was fun, wasn't it? And it looks like your Pokemon had a good time." She tousled Cara's tuft of headfur, eliciting a purr from the fox, and I stared at the Pokeball in my hand.

"Yeah, well, maybe." I retorted lamely, and she laughed a merry twinkling laugh, making my stomach flip.

"You're silly sometimes. Of course they had fun! C'mon, let's go to the Center to get your Pokemon healed up." And so we did.

As I handed my three Pokeballs to the resident nurse, who slipped them into the scanner with practiced ease, Rose sat down at a table near the door. I sat down across from her, and Cara jumped into my lap, putting her weight on my legs. As soon as she was comfortable, she licked my hand once and lay down, purring contentedly.

"So you've already gotten your first badge, huh?" I nodded, flipping open my badge case to let Rose see. "Nice! Though you ought to be a pro at this by now."

I blushed at the compliment. "I'll never be as good at battling as you, Rose."

I thought I saw her face turn a little pink as well, and I smiled warmly in response.

"Uh... w-well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Bill." She pulled out a map and began to look it over, occasionally rotating it ninety degrees. "Oh, dammit! This place is too confusing."

I laughed at her as I picked Cara up and moved over to sit next to Rose, placing the Vulpix on her lap and taking the town map out of her hands. "Elia has a better sense of direction than you, Rose. Let me look over this. Where are you trying to get to?"

"I want to get to Eterna City, but I can't find it anywhere on this map!"

After a few seconds, I pointed to a spot north of Oreburgh on the map. "This is the way you need to hold the map, and that's where Eterna is."

She looked at it, and watched my finger trace a path downwards to another dot on the map. "And here is Oreburgh, where you are right now. Now, if you go north up Cycling Road, you should be able to make it to Eterna. You have your bike, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Okay." I handed the map back to her, and she roughly jammed it back into her bag, probably crumpling it in the process. I sighed.

"It's no wonder you can't make heads or tails of a map - you're always crumpling them like that." She didn't respond until after she had zipped her backpack closed.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I grunted out a quick 'never mind' and stood up, and she did the same.

"Well, thanks, Bill!" She gave me a quick, but squeezy, hug before dashing out the door. "Don't get into trouble now! See ya!"

I stood there, blushing heavily, and I only broke out of my trance when a youngster pointed out that my Pokemon were healed and waiting. Plucking the Pokeballs, I headed outside and walked west, to the outskirts of the town. Only when the buildings were out of sight did I pull out my Pokegear and tap down my home number. I heard ringing for a few minutes, before my mother picked up the phone.

"Oh! Bill! Good timing! Crescent and Vivian want to see how Crescendo's doing." She looked at me before her voice changed, now concerned at my apparently noticeably confused face. "What's wrong? You're all red."

"It's nothing. Here," I started, pulling out Crescendo's Pokeball and opening it, and in a flash of light, Crescendo appeared. He immediately started to bark at the screen, and Crescent's face popped up. The Espeon began to glow, and my mom spoke again.

"He said that Crescendo seems unhappy. Did something happen?" I grunted.

"It's nothing. We just lost a battle." If it weren't for Crescent being an Espeon, I'd have sworn that he would have raised an eyebrow, and he began to glow again. My mom walked over and picked him up, setting him in her lap and scratching him behind one of his ears.

"Yeah, he's right. You haven't lost a battle in a while. Are you sure you aren't in over your head this time?" I shook my head.

"No, it's nothing. She just had a really strong Pokemon." Mom gave me a funny look, and I let out a huff. "Really! It's nothing. Don't worry, we're fine."

My mother sighed. "Well, alright. Don't work yourself too hard." She abruptly ended the call, and I lay on my back, the uneven ground serving as my resting spot for a couple hours. Crescendo sat on my chest, wagging his fluffy tail, and I wrapped him into a loose hug. He quietly said "Vee." and looked at me solemnly.

"Huhhh. Crescendo, have you ever had a weird feeling around your friends?" He didn't answer, so I continued. "Like, you're blushing for no reason and you feel really strange?"

He hopped off of me, nodding, and dug into my bag, rolling a Pokeball out with his snout. I watched him as he pressed the button on the ball, releasing Nicole, and he pounced her playfully before scampering towards the town. Nicole looked after him for a second before zooming off to follow him. Quickly picking up Nicole's Pokeball and grabbing my messenger back, I took off after the pair.

* * *

**A/N: I don't particularly like this chapter - I think it's too dialogue-heavy and it's too unplanned. Since I've got a good premise for the other chapters, this shouldn't happen again.**


End file.
